8/10/2019 Make Your Big Data Work Harder

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*The Guardian | Wednesday 3 July 2013 25

Make your big data work harder

he use of big data toimprove an organisationsactivities is considered by some to be t he mostpowerful business phe-nomenon of the internetage. The big refers to both the volume of data

created and the speed at which ever morepiles up: one multinational technology andconsulting corporation estimates the worldnow creates 2.5 quintillion (a million timesa trillion) bytes of data a day its a lot).

For businesses, big data can accumu-late from information on customer activ-ity, communications, and even data frominanimate objects, because the emerginginternet of things means a tra ffi c signal,packing crate or central-heating systemcan all emit information.

At the same time, storage facilities,processing power and algorithms to ana-lyse the data are improving, opening upmore possibilities to spot potentially valu-

able anomalies or trends that could bringcompetitive advantage. But there are manyimportant issues to consider, such as howto capture and store your data; how to siftout the gems from the dross; and how touse it to help your business become moreprotable and grow.

These topics formed the focus of arecent Guardian roadshow event, held inassociation with business analytics soft-ware specialists SAS and the Institute ofDirectors. An expert panel o ff ered insightsinto this fast-developing area before eld-ing a lively set of questions from an audi-ence of senior managers from all sectors.

Instant analysisRob McManus, head of visual analytics atSAS UK & Ireland, said the principles of bigdata are not new; what has grown is thescale and potential.

For major retailers and tax authorities,this can mean instant analysis of the like-lihood that a transaction is fraudulent, based on a range of data patterns. But italso has an e ff ect inside organisations: theprocess of strategic decision-making can be greatly quickened.

I was talking to one team in a high-street bank who said new technologychanges their relationship with decision-makers. Instead of turning up to a meetingand someone saying something interest-ing might be going on here, could youinvestigate?, and the team having to goaway and research it for a few weeks, theycan now do it on the spot.

Firms such as insurance companiesare also able to include a high degree ofpersonalisation into their pricing o ff ers,taking into account data relating to theindividual applicant, McManus said. It isreally quite extraordinary they can pricenot just for someone who looks like you, but for you.

One important linked development isthe creation of better tools for data visuali-

sation graphical or immersive displays ofdata, McManus added.We all see more in a picture than we see

in a set of data, so the ability to paint thatpicture with a tool rather than looking at aspreadsheet helps you spot a trend muchmore quickly. You can walk around thatdata and see what it is telling you. It can be transformative.

Another transformative capability of big data is the potential it o ff ers to trackan organisations reputation in real time,said Rachel Gri ffi ths, founding partner ofReputation Consultancy.

A companys reputation can representmore than a third of its market value,she added, and, in the modern world,peoples views about it can be found onlineall of the time. Think about the contentthat is being created every minute: the blogs, the online conversations, the Face- book shares.

Reputation management is often seensimply as something to use in times of cri-sis, she said, but it can also help to createa sustainable business. For example, withenergy companies, it is no surprise thatprice is most often talked about online,said Griffiths, but more sophisticatedreputation-tracker tools can look behindstatements to motivation.

It is possible to interpret not only sen-timent behind a conversation, but emo-tion, and it is emotion that drives behav-iour. Take anger or disgust, for example these are very active emotions and meanpeople are likely to withdraw from usinga service.

This and other uses of big data ulti-mately allow organisations to take moreinformed decisions, Gri ffi ths said. Youcan understand what is happening hereand now, make comparisons with compet-

Companies are collecting ever more information about their customers, but few really use it to their advantage.Dan Jellinek listens in as experts discuss why analysis of this information is a powerful business tool

the sales department, Paterson added.Say we run a small mail-order company,with 100 customers. You could be sit-

ting there with a pile of vouchers and saythats funny, people who are family mem- bers of other customers are responding toemails more.

But with 100,000 customers, smallertrends can be di ffi cult to spot without spe-cialised analysis, he said. You might notnotice if that trend actually reverses as theage gap between family members grows, because Billy isnt going to buy the same jeans as his father, or that it re-reverses incertain culture groups where there is morerespect for older generations.

Wide applicationWith the oor opened for questions, onedelegate asked whether big data mattersto smaller businesses. I can appreciate itis useful to an Amazon or Tesco, but howapplicable is it to others?

McManus said big data was a relativeterm, with wide application. It is notnecessarily about vastness of data, its just about if there is more data there thanyou can reasonably get at and use, he said.Some small businesses could take advan-tage of that.

However, many businesses, of all sizes,still do not realise how data analysis can beof benet to them, he said. As an industry,we need to educate as to opportunities.

The rise of data to what some havecalled the oil of the digital age, alsomeans small and medium-size businessescan become part of a new informationchain, not just a supply chain, said Pater-son. By becoming specialist aggregatorsof information for larger users, they cannd a new niche.

Inevitably, the question of privacy wasraised. If everyones data is a commodity to be bought and sold, asked more than oneattendee, wont people become sick of it

A recent roadshow event discussed how analysing big data can help organisations to determine where best to concentrate resources Photographs: Getty/Sam Friedrich

being used to cross-sell and ask for theirdata to be wiped away? Paterson said thatpart of the answer to questions like this

is that, whether we like it or not, the con-cepts and reality of privacy are changing,and people will simply need to get usedto it.

Every transaction you make, everyhotel you stay at will be recorded, ana-lysed and repackaged as a sales propo-sition to you, he said. This is neithergood nor bad it will happen. Its like theTitanic sinking its happened, its gone,get over it.

On the other hand, big data will havemany positive benets, such as individu-alised medical care, with smart sensorsin your house detecting the very millisec-ond you acquire something unpleasant,making a GP appointment for you, adjust-ing your diet.

Griffiths acknowledged that privacywould be an increasing concern and said,for large organisations, the key issuescan be stated in two words: transparencyand accountability.

To this mix, McManus added consumerpower: In the future, we will all choose towork for, interact with and buy from com-panies who send us the right messagesabout our data, and choose not to interactwith companies who dont.

Key discussion points

New technologies to analyse largevolumes of customer, sales or otherrelevant data in real time can helpcompanies to speed up strategicdecision-making, personalise servicesand track their reputation.

Tools to present information ingraphic formats known as datavisualisation can help managers tospot trends intuitively.

Big data is a relative term: manysmaller companies could benetfrom live-data analysis.

When organisations process largeamounts of customer data, therewill inevitably be some concernsabout privacy: transparency andaccountability are the key here,particularly for large organisations.

Transactions you make will be analysed andrepackaged as a salesproposition to you

Roadshow report commissioned bySeven Plus and controlled by the Guardian.Discussion hosted to a brief agreed with SAS.Supported by SAS.Contact Sarah Russell on 020-3353 4866(sarah.russell@guardian.co.uk).For information on sponsored content visit: guardian.co.uk/sponsored-content

On the panel

itors and see risks, trends and behaviours.It is brilliant at prioritising to help youto ask, where shall we put our resources,

where are we performing?Big data, it seems, can even begin topredict the future. Rosco Paterson, chiefexecutive of Verologik and deputy chair-man of the Engineering DevelopmentTrust, told the powerful tale of a US trialwith striking results. Analysis of crimedata by the Los Angeles Police Departmenthad helped to direct o ffi cers to areas wherea crime was likely to occur before it hap-pened, with their presence then acting asa deterrent, he said. The result was a 26%reduction in burglary in those areas.

From the perspective of a business,enhanced data analysis creates manynew opportunities, most obviously for

The Guardian roadshow in association with SAS

Rachel Gri ffi thsFounding partner,ReputationConsultancy

Rob McManusHead of visualanalytics,SAS UK & Ireland

Rosco PatersonChief executive,Verologik; deputychairman,EngineeringDevelopmentTrust

JohnBurn-Murdoch(Chair)Data journalistand news reporter,the Guardian

Make your big data work harder

he use of big data toimprove an organisationsactivities is considered by some to be t he mostpowerful business phe-nomenon of the internetage. The big refers to both the volume of data

created and the speed at which ever morepiles up: one multinational technology andconsulting corporation estimates the worldnow creates 2.5 quintillion (a million timesa trillion) bytes of data a day its a lot).

For businesses, big data can accumu-late from information on customer activ-ity, communications, and even data frominanimate objects, because the emerginginternet of things means a tra ffi c signal,packing crate or central-heating systemcan all emit information.

At the same time, storage facilities,processing power and algorithms to ana-lyse the data are improving, opening upmore possibilities to spot potentially valu-

able anomalies or trends that could bringcompetitive advantage. But there are manyimportant issues to consider, such as howto capture and store your data; how to siftout the gems from the dross; and how touse it to help your business become moreprotable and grow.

These topics formed the focus of arecent Guardian roadshow event, held inassociation with business analytics soft-ware specialists SAS and the Institute ofDirectors. An expert panel o ff ered insightsinto this fast-developing area before eld-ing a lively set of questions from an audi-ence of senior managers from all sectors.

Instant analysisRob McManus, head of visual analytics atSAS UK & Ireland, said the principles of bigdata are not new; what has grown is thescale and potential.

For major retailers and tax authorities,this can mean instant analysis of the like-lihood that a transaction is fraudulent, based on a range of data patterns. But italso has an e ff ect inside organisations: theprocess of strategic decision-making can be greatly quickened.

I was talking to one team in a high-street bank who said new technologychanges their relationship with decision-makers. Instead of turning up to a meetingand someone saying something interest-ing might be going on here, could youinvestigate?, and the team having to goaway and research it for a few weeks, theycan now do it on the spot.

Firms such as insurance companiesare also able to include a high degree ofpersonalisation into their pricing o ff ers,taking into account data relating to theindividual applicant, McManus said. It isreally quite extraordinary they can pricenot just for someone who looks like you, but for you.

One important linked development isthe creation of better tools for data visuali-

sation graphical or immersive displays ofdata, McManus added.We all see more in a picture than we see

in a set of data, so the ability to paint thatpicture with a tool rather than looking at aspreadsheet helps you spot a trend muchmore quickly. You can walk around thatdata and see what it is telling you. It can be transformative.

Another transformative capability of big data is the potential it o ff ers to trackan organisations reputation in real time,said Rachel Gri ffi ths, founding partner ofReputation Consultancy.

A companys reputation can representmore than a third of its market value,she added, and, in the modern world,peoples views about it can be found onlineall of the time. Think about the contentthat is being created every minute: the blogs, the online conversations, the Face- book shares.

Reputation management is often seensimply as something to use in times of cri-sis, she said, but it can also help to createa sustainable business. For example, withenergy companies, it is no surprise thatprice is most often talked about online,said Griffiths, but more sophisticatedreputation-tracker tools can look behindstatements to motivation.

It is possible to interpret not only sen-timent behind a conversation, but emo-tion, and it is emotion that drives behav-iour. Take anger or disgust, for example these are very active emotions and meanpeople are likely to withdraw from usinga service.

This and other uses of big data ulti-mately allow organisations to take moreinformed decisions, Gri ffi ths said. Youcan understand what is happening hereand now, make comparisons with compet-

Companies are collecting ever more information about their customers, but few really use it to their advantage.Dan Jellinek listens in as experts discuss why analysis of this information is a powerful business tool

the sales department, Paterson added.Say we run a small mail-order company,with 100 customers. You could be sit-

ting there with a pile of vouchers and saythats funny, people who are family mem- bers of other customers are responding toemails more.

But with 100,000 customers, smallertrends can be di ffi cult to spot without spe-cialised analysis, he said. You might notnotice if that trend actually reverses as theage gap between family members grows, because Billy isnt going to buy the same jeans as his father, or that it re-reverses incertain culture groups where there is morerespect for older generations.

Wide applicationWith the oor opened for questions, onedelegate asked whether big data mattersto smaller businesses. I can appreciate itis useful to an Amazon or Tesco, but howapplicable is it to others?

McManus said big data was a relativeterm, with wide application. It is notnecessarily about vastness of data, its just about if there is more data there thanyou can reasonably get at and use, he said.Some small businesses could take advan-tage of that.

However, many businesses, of all sizes,still do not realise how data analysis can beof benet to them, he said. As an industry,we need to educate as to opportunities.

The rise of data to what some havecalled the oil of the digital age, alsomeans small and medium-size businessescan become part of a new informationchain, not just a supply chain, said Pater-son. By becoming specialist aggregatorsof information for larger users, they cannd a new niche.

Inevitably, the question of privacy wasraised. If everyones data is a commodity to be bought and sold, asked more than oneattendee, wont people become sick of it

A recent roadshow event discussed how analysing big data can help organisations to determine where best to concentrate resources Photographs: Getty/Sam Friedrich

being used to cross-sell and ask for theirdata to be wiped away? Paterson said thatpart of the answer to questions like this

is that, whether we like it or not, the con-cepts and reality of privacy are changing,and people will simply need to get usedto it.

Every transaction you make, everyhotel you stay at will be recorded, ana-lysed and repackaged as a sales propo-sition to you, he said. This is neithergood nor bad it will happen. Its like theTitanic sinking its happened, its gone,get over it.

On the other hand, big data will havemany positive benets, such as individu-alised medical care, with smart sensorsin your house detecting the very millisec-ond you acquire something unpleasant,making a GP appointment for you, adjust-ing your diet.

Griffiths acknowledged that privacywould be an increasing concern and said,for large organisations, the key issuescan be stated in two words: transparencyand accountability.

To this mix, McManus added consumerpower: In the future, we will all choose towork for, interact with and buy from com-panies who send us the right messagesabout our data, and choose not to interactwith companies who dont.

Key discussion points

New technologies to analyse largevolumes of customer, sales or otherrelevant data in real time can helpcompanies to speed up strategicdecision-making, personalise servicesand track their reputation.

Tools to present information ingraphic formats known as datavisualisation can help managers tospot trends intuitively.

Big data is a relative term: manysmaller companies could benetfrom live-data analysis.

When organisations process largeamounts of customer data, therewill inevitably be some concernsabout privacy: transparency andaccountability are the key here,particularly for large organisations.

Transactions you make will be analysed andrepackaged as a salesproposition to you

Roadshow report commissioned bySeven Plus and controlled by the Guardian.Discussion hosted to a brief agreed with SAS.Supported by SAS.Contact Sarah Russell on 020-3353 4866(sarah.russell@guardian.co.uk).For information on sponsored content visit: guardian.co.uk/sponsored-content

On the panel

itors and see risks, trends and behaviours.It is brilliant at prioritising to help youto ask, where shall we put our resources,

where are we performing?Big data, it seems, can even begin topredict the future. Rosco Paterson, chiefexecutive of Verologik and deputy chair-man of the Engineering DevelopmentTrust, told the powerful tale of a US trialwith striking results. Analysis of crimedata by the Los Angeles Police Departmenthad helped to direct o ffi cers to areas wherea crime was likely to occur before it hap-pened, with their presence then acting asa deterrent, he said. The result was a 26%reduction in burglary in those areas.

From the perspective of a business,enhanced data analysis creates manynew opportunities, most obviously for

The Guardian roadshow in association with SAS

Rachel Gri ffi ths Founding partner,ReputationConsultancy

Rob McManus Head of visualanalytics,SAS UK & Ireland

Rosco Paterson Chief executive,Verologik; deputychairman,EngineeringDevelopmentTrust

JohnBurn-Murdoch(Chair) Data journalistand news reporter,the Guardian